CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) Share Price Passes Above 200-Day Moving Average – Should You Sell?

CNO Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:CNO)’s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $41.05 and traded as high as $41.37. CNO Financial Group shares last traded at $41.2080, with a volume of 534,536 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNO has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore reiterated an “underperform” rating and issued a $43.00 target price on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CNO Financial Group from $46.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $42.00 to $47.00 in a report on Monday, December 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of CNO Financial Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CNO Financial Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $46.25.

CNO Financial Group Trading Down 1.8%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.17 and a current ratio of 0.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89 and a beta of 0.83. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $42.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $41.05.

CNO Financial Group (NYSE:CNO) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $101.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1 billion. CNO Financial Group had a return on equity of 15.80% and a net margin of 4.94%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that CNO Financial Group, Inc. will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current year.

CNO Financial Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. CNO Financial Group’s payout ratio is currently 30.49%.

Insider Transactions at CNO Financial Group

In other CNO Financial Group news, General Counsel Matthew J. Zimpfer sold 33,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total transaction of $1,455,090.00. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel directly owned 307,937 shares in the company, valued at $13,256,687.85. The trade was a 9.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Gary C. Bhojwani sold 43,021 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.05, for a total transaction of $1,852,054.05. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 277,526 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,947,494.30. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 226,431 shares of company stock worth $9,715,996 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 3.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CNO Financial Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of CNO Financial Group by 6.2% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,121,527 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $120,429,000 after buying an additional 183,493 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group in the third quarter valued at about $1,077,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,057,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of CNO Financial Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,469,000. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its position in CNO Financial Group by 141.1% during the 2nd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 86,148 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,324,000 after acquiring an additional 50,411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 95.43% of the company’s stock.

About CNO Financial Group

CNO Financial Group is an Indiana‐based holding company that offers a range of insurance and retirement solutions through its operating subsidiaries. Its primary business activities include life insurance, annuities, and supplemental health insurance products designed to help individuals plan for retirement and manage health‐related expenses. The company serves middle‐income Americans, with particular emphasis on senior customers seeking guaranteed coverage and reliable income streams.

Originally founded as Conseco in 1979, the company underwent a financial restructuring and rebranded as CNO Financial Group in 2010.